Clean Train Coalition members are 'Damn Fine Activists' deems the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA).
The coalition will be recognized with the Bob Hunter Award Wednesday night, Dec. 9, at TEA's annual fundraiser, EcoBunk, a comedy show that pokes fun at the most outrageous corporate green advertising of 2009. The Bob Hunter Award is a much anticipated part of the evening. The dedicated environmentalist, Hunter, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace, veteran advocacy columnist, scriptwriter, author and lecturer, personally handed out the award until 2005 when the 63-year old lost his battle with prostate cancer. "Bob Hunter himself started it a few years before his death for the TEA fundraiser," said Lina Cino, toxics campaigner for TEA. "He never held back. He was out there. He loved people who put themselves out there. He had a one-track mind. To me, Bob didn't let anyone derail him. The Clean Train Coalition is paralleling that. They're not getting railroaded. They keep moving down the track in a direction they want to go and picking up passengers along the way. Bob would have been a passenger on that train."The Clean Train Coalition has been actively working to convince the provincial government and Metrolinx to electrify the Georgetown South rail corridor, which includes GO Transit trains in addition to the new infrastructure that will be built for the Air-Rail Link between Union Station and Pearson International Airport. It is led by a group of passionate and hardworking activists, according to Cino, who have staged some of the biggest demonstrations to save neighbourhoods this city has seen in years. The coalition believes Metrolinx's plan to run more than 450 diesel trains through densely populated West Toronto neighbourhoods, including Liberty Village, Parkdale, the Junction and Weston, is ill-conceived and needs revisiting. "This isn't NIMBYism," said Cino. "They're saying, 'We live by these trains, we just want to find a better way. There is a better way out there.'"Instead of changing the city, the coalition says the plan will harm the health of more than 300,000 Toronto residents while contributing to climate change and smog and threatening the vitality of 12 vibrant neighbourhoods. "The Clean Train Coalition is the top organization in my mind," said Cino. "The reason for that is we think they've done tremendous work. They seized on an issue that was dear to their hearts. They're incredibly well-organized and smart. They've organized neighbourhoods and rallies along the corridor. If you can get a community out and engage them, you're doing an incredible job and they've done it over and over again."It is unusual for the Bob Hunter Award to be bestowed upon an organization or group. In fact, this is the first time it won't be awarded to an individual. "This year, we're giving it to a collective comprised of many leaders," said Cino, recognizing that it's not easy to keep a coalition together. The Clean Train Coalition is thrilled to receive an award such as this one."It's great news," said spokesperson Keith Brooks. "We're honoured to receive this award. It goes to show this issue is bigger than the corridor. It's city-wide. "It's about the air we breathe."Brooks extended his thanks to everyone who has helped along the way."Everyone who came to the rally, everyone who's been a part of the movement," he said.If it weren't for the coalition, Metrolinx and the Ministry of the Environment would not have acknowledged that they would not put trains on the track if they were not Tier 4 diesel - the cleanest diesel they can get, said Cino, although electric is best, she added.Hunter's family will present the award Wednesday during the fundraiser at Lula Lounge on Dundas Street West. The event includes a live and silent auction. The fundraiser tends to raise between $8,000 to $10,000.